Gray Lullaby
by DazedConfusedAndHappyAboutIt
Summary: Shinra gets hurt badly and Celty has to take care of him. Izaya gives her the name of the guy who did it and she has to choose between revenge and Shinra. Please comment!


I don't own Durarara! or the characters.

Gray Lullaby

It had been a long evening when Celty got back to the apartment. Three jobs in the past four hours had left her tired. She now stood out on the balcony of the apartment, staring up into the speckled night sky. Below, the lights were dim and she watched the sky for endless minutes before casually checking the time on her jet black PDA. It was a quiet evening; the city always seemed to be quiet at this late hour of the night. She was awaiting her friend's return to their apartment. Shinra had recently gone out on a job himself, but still she worried about him, even now. Celty roamed the space of the living room in anticipation for her lover's return. The mere thought of his face, his voice, was enough to set loose a swarm of butterflies in her stomach and made her still heart flutter like one.

A familiar ding of the elevator a few yards from the front door promised that Shinra had returned. In such high spirits, Celty walked over to the hallway, arms swaying back and forth carelessly, like a child on their way to the candy store. She gently skipped down the hallway towards the front door, ready to throw her arms around Shinra to greet him. She reached for the handle and opened the door for him, only to have a wave of terror smack her and a chill of fear crawl up her spine.

Shinra stood in the doorway with his left hand over an open wound on his side and his other hand clutching the frame of the doorway for support. Celty's arms fell to her sides as she looked Shinra over for more damage. His coat was tarnished with dirt and blood and it was cut and torn in multiple places. One of the lenses of his glasses was shattered in a spider-web pattern, the glasses themselves barely hanging to his nose, dried blood sinking down it from his forehead. When he spoke, she heard him struggling to not show pain.

"Hey Celty…." And with a forced smile, he collapsed on the wood floor of the front hallway. Celty barely caught him as he fell, but when she turned him over, he was unconscious. Fear flowed into her body as she knelt there, shocked at the past few seconds. She then immediately picked Shinra up and hurriedly carried him to his bed. She carefully lay him down on his bed before checking his mouth with her hand. _Thank god he's still breathing…_ she thought. She run her hand down his blood-covered cheek, feeling the warmth it still radiated, still alive. She proceeded to get the materials it would take to clean him up; twenty years of living with a doctor and she learned where the medical supplies were. The clock read 3:10 am.

First came the coat. Even though she could easily lift him up with her shadowy fog, it never occurred to her to use it. She pulled Shinra's arms out of it and slowly pulled it out from under him. She looked at it for a brief second; dirt, blood and water stained his previously white lab coat. A fling of Celty's wrist sent it to the hamper a few feet away. His tie was slipped off, which only left his shirt. Celty slowly unbuttoned the stained shirt; gentle hands making sure to be slow against the skin of this unconscious body. A tightness in her chest grew as she uncovered hidden bruises and open wounds. She slowly pulled the shirt off of Shinra's arms and tossed it aside with the lab coat. The staggered but gentle movement of Shinra's chest relieved her immensely. The clock read 3:47 am.

Bandaging Shinra, the knot in Celty's throat grew larger and the tightness in her chest continued. As she bandaged the small knife wound in his side and the cut on his brow, she was reminded how fragile life is. She slowly mopped up the dried blood from his face, being ever so gentle. She reached his lips that were partially open with the warm, wet towel she was using when a quiet sigh was uttered from Shinra's mouth. She paused. As her hand rest on the top of her neck, Celty began to cry her invisible tears. Drops of water from the rag that she held behind her neck fell into her lap. Her shoulders violently shook as she cried her silent cries and tears that would never hit her leg. She held his hand as she sat next to him, sobbing with the wet, warm rag. A glance and the clock; it read 4:13 am. Celty kept holding Shinra's hand as she wept silently in this dark night that she was afraid of.

The clock read 4:21 when a text came to light up Celty's PDA that was sitting on table next to Shinra's bed. She began to turn to retrieve it, but stopped. _Shinra is more important than whatever Izaya wants me to go and do right now._ On the unseen screen of the PDA, Izaya had sent a message. Celty did not care what he had to say; Shinra needed her and she wasn't about to abandon his side.

4:24 was accompanied by a second text, from Izaya. Again, Celty refused to look at her PDA.

4:31 am came and so did another text.

4:35 am.

4:39 am.

It was at 4:42 am when there was the familiar clicking sound of the front door shutting. Celty knew all too well who it was and a few second later, her assumption was proven.

"Hello Celty" he said, a mischievous smile plastered over his pale face.

[What do you want Izaya?]. She didn't even bother to turn her neck towards him. Shinra was still out cold and she wasn't going to waste time on Izaya.

"You weren't answering the texts so I decided to drop in." Izaya walked casually to one side to observe the figure in the bed. An evil-sounding giggle caused Celty's neck to turn slightly toward the mass beside her.

"Can't say I'm surprised. Shinra never really learned to keep his mouth shut. Even when it was important to". And with that, Izaya found a shadowy coil wrapping up his torso and finally ending at his nose; the glistening point of shadows barely touched the skin of his neck. The smile on the man's face didn't falter as he stared menacingly at Celty. Even as she held him in the potentially fatal shadows seeping from her sleeve, she was afraid of him. There was a silence between them; between the walls of Shinra's bedroom. Celty began typing on her PDA.

[Whatever job you want me to do, it'll have to wait.] She stared back at Shinra, still breathing easy.

"Alright then. I mean, it's not like I couldn't do it myself". Celty nonchalantly typed, not diverting her gaze from Shinra.

[Well, have fun with that]. Izaya looked at the PDA, his glazed eyes hanging open apathetically. It was the first time Celty had denied a job, from him nonetheless. And as he opened his mouth to give his disguised rebuttal, Celty held up her hand, telling him to stop. At the sound of him drawing in a breath to continue, Celty wrapped a span of shadows tightly around his mouth. He waved good bye and skipped off down the hall and out the door.

Celty continued watching Shinra for the next few hours. She did not move from where she sat, only to turn to check the digital clock on the night stand. It read six thirty-one in fluorescent green numbers.

As her mind wandered slowly through the night, the thought of that faceless man popped into her head. She looked at Shinra, then the PDA laying face up on the night stand, back to Shinra. She gently squeezed his hand as if to say _I'll be right back. I'm not going anywhere_. She slowly picked up her PDA and typed the letters from the clicking buttons and sent the text. The PDA read that the message to Izaya was sent. Enough was enough. She would find the man who hurt Shinra.

The phone quickly began to vibrate as the informant's call lit up the screen. "I had a feeling you'd be contacting me soon. And as far as who it is, well first I'll need you to do something for me. There's a package I have that needs to be given to someone. What's in it would call for an investigation so try not to get the cops roped in. The man you'll be giving it to knows who it was. You can ask him." A click followed by the hum of a dial tone rung in what would have been an ear. Celty slowly replaced the PDA on the night stand. She thought about what Izaya said; about the man, and the delivery. Was it worth the trouble just to try to find this man? She looked at Shinra, replacing her hand on his.

Celty slipped her PDA into the sleeve of her black riding suit and looked at Shinra again. She wanted to stay with him, but it might've been the only chance she had; and she wasn't going to give it up. She watched Shinra, still holding his hand; the warmth flowing between their interlocked fingers. She took a small pad and wrote that she'd be out for a little

-if you need anything, just call. I have your camera set so I can see you. I'll be back soon.—

Celty set his laptop facing him, and turned on the camera. With a few clicks, her PDA displayed what the camera saw: Shinra laying quietly. With this, she felt safe enough to leave Shinra for the short time she would. She would know if he was making any noise besides the soft breathing through his nose. Know if he needed her. Know that he wasn't dead.

Celty stood up to leave, her mind welling with a torrent of emotion. She looked back to Shinra, his eyes still shut. She bent down to where her face would've been barely touching his. She lifted her hand and held his cheek in her palm. A slight twitch of her neck and it brushed just so over his barely parted lips. She immediately shot up and a large, heart-shaped plume billowed out from her neck. She ran her fingers across where his lips had brushed. Silence fell as the ecstacy of the moment lingered for what felt like an eternity. It had been centuries, perhaps millennia, that Celty had walked this Earth. No single moment had felt longer than this. The time was in reality, not one minute; but as she stood there, hand on her neck, she felt the hours, days, weeks, months, years go by. She grabbed the bright helmet, glistening in the first cracks of daylight. She placed it about her neck, dissipating the black smog around her. She looked at Shinra again, and with a click of the door, she started towards her bike.

Celty was greeted with a similar nonchalant attitude she'd come to know as Izaya led her into his office. Celty checked her PDA again, as she now routinely did; he was still fast asleep. Every time she checked her PDA she felt relieved, if only for a fleeting second. As Izaya continued to boast about one thing or another, Celty wished that she was back with Shinra. She could hear his breathing; see his chest gently move up and down. She snapped out of her day dream as Izaya sat down into the seat behind his desk.

"So like I was saying, I need you to meet him at the East Station exit. It's important that the cops don't follow you. This wouldn't turn out pretty if they got their hands on it." Celty nodded and proceeded to take the bag. Izaya placed his hand on the handle and looked up at Celty. "I wouldn't look in it either. It's sort of on a need-to-know basis. It's nothing you need to worry about." And with that, Celty walked out the front door.

Izaya picked up his phone and punched in a few keys. A dial tone rang before abruptly stopping. "Yeah. Yep. Just shake her up a little. Nothing too much." He turned and looked out the window as Celty sped down the highway towards East Station.

" The package actually needs to be delivered _that _ in there. I don't know, just distract the cops if they get too close. Okay. Bye."

The bright subway station greeted the pitch black rider suit Celty wore. Leaving her bike, she descended the worn stairs into the earth and to the screeching sounds of brakes and the hiss of pressure release. At the bottom, a swarm of people scurried about like picnic ants. The mob slowly swallowed her up as she made her way to the wall opposite the platform. As the train left the station, so too did the majority of the travelers, either on the now disappearing train, or meandering up the stairs.

Five men stood scattered around the platform, all wearing similar clothing. A spark of anxiety suddenly coursed up her spine and through her conscious. The man closest the stairs shot a quick glance up the stairs and motioned to another one of the men. He started towards the bench where an increasingly nervous Celty sat. As he closed in, two others began walking towards her, not far behind the first. As they closed in on her, Celty began to discretely spread the shadowy substance beneath her feet. The first man stopped just a few feet from her; his eyes were covered by ominous, dark glasses.

Action!

The man thrust his hand at the bag Celty held. The shadows drew across him and restrained him as the other men ran towards the commotion. Celty stood from her seat and ran for the stairs. The men gave chase as the sound of boots smacking the pavement screeched like a train's brakes.

She had made it to the stairs, but a sixth man stood between her and the outside. As the others charged towards her, a long jagged pole materialized from the shadows coursing from her palm. A long, thin blade shot from its tip. She turned swiftly and with a sweep of the scythe, she managed to subdue three of the men. Out of the air, the fourth man fell and nearly landed on her. The lights began to burst as the fifth shot them out. The station grew dimmer and dimmer. It was pitch black and Celty was frightened. She could see maybe two feet in any direction. The sound of a train down the tunnel was slowly getting louder.

There were no footsteps to be heard anymore. She stood, still as a statue, as the three men continued to silently search for her. The outside was lighted, so she couldn't get out without them seeing her. She slowly crouched down to the floor, making sure not to make a sound. She felt the cold ground beneath her fingertips; the specks of loose concrete strewn across the floor. An idea.

Celty gingerly picked up a pebble from under her palm. She slowly maneuvered her arm up towards her shoulder. With as little movement as possible, she threw the small rock across the platform. Gunshots rang and the glare of the gunpowder explosions shown across the yellow helmet. She whipped the shadowy scythe about and heard two low thuds where the gunshots had been seen. Only one man remained.

She proceeded to throw another pebble. The sound echoed, but no shot rang in the ears she didn't have. The train was getting louder. She sat completely still. One footstep rang, but she could not tell where it was from. A faint breeze; the train would pass any second.

A gust of air and flashes of light flooded the station as Celty frantically looked for the last man. He stood not five feet away from where she sat on the ground. Before he had time to react, Celty coiled her shadows round his waist and threw him against a wall. She darted for the exit and made it back into the dim sunlight.

The foggy ground and the gray skies gave off an ominous feeling of death. Celty thought back to Ireland; to waking up in an overgrown cemetery after losing her head. All that seemed to be missing was the unkempt lawn and tarnished rock of headstones. She casually looked around for the man she was to meet. The few people that were around seemed like only shadows in the hovering fog. Trying to calm her nerves, she proceeded to sit on the bench just across the path.

As she sat, there was little noise to be heard and little to gaze upon with her lack of eyes. It was gray besides the shadows that floated in and out of her vision and the bike perched against the bench. Many a time she'd seen a dramatized scene from an alien movie very like her current environment; only adding to her anxious feeling. Any second now some terrible creature would burst through the silence. When a small man tapped her shoulder, she jumped as her anxiety flowed out spontaneously and a silent scream rang through her ears.

"You must be Celty. Izaya said you'd be around here. Come. We need to keep moving or trouble will find us." The man walked hurriedly beside the silent bike Celty sat atop. As they continued, the horror-movie trees creaked and swayed eerily and the dark branches pierced through the dense fog. Celty stared at the man who was being vigilant towards the path ahead. A shadow suddenly moved behind them, unnoticed by either of the individuals. They kept walking down their path through an invisible park. The still-unnoticed shadows continued to slowly follow closely behind. A snap of a twig on the stone walk. The man leaned toward Celty ever so slightly. "Don't look behind you. There is a man following us. Act as casual as possible." Celty's fingers tightened around the handlebars.

The young man bent down to the ground suddenly. "Give me a few seconds. I need to tie my shoe." Celty stopped her bike just in front of him. She saw the shadow close behind them. She frantically looked down at the man tying his shoes. Why would he do that, now of all times?

As he knelt there, Celty noticed a small cylinder concealed in his shoe. He took it out and placed it gingerly next to his foot. A small button pressed sent two silent wires out from where it stood. He proceeded to stand up, hurriedly, being sure not to step on the wire. When he got to Celty, he began to mouth words, still not facing her. "Five. Four." She knew what was going to happen at one. Three. A light footstep clicked on the stone path. Two. She held the handles firmly in her hands and readied her nerves.

One.

A loud bang rang through the silence and a bright flash burst into life behind the two. The man jumped onto Celty's bike and they sped down the walk at a breakneck speed. Past the fingers of the trees. Past the eerie stone path. Out into the street where there were once again streetlights. A wave of relief flooded Celty's body as she began to relax. As the man pointed her down this street then that, she felt like something was out of place. What could it be, she wondered to herself. The sky began to drizzle small drops down on the world as the two sped down the highway.

Upon arrival at the destination, the man began rambling about the past few days. The rain steadily increased to a usual rainfall as the man took his time getting to the building. "This package has been nothing but trouble. Not only for me, but a few of the people I've run into. My friends." Celty pulled out her PDA and began typing. "That doctor kid I ran into last night. Poor guy getting mixed up in all this. I feel kinda bad for what happened, I mean, I didn't mean to have that stuff happen to him." Celty stopped typing and the rain grew heavier. The world fell silent, all except for his talking.

"I feel real bad for leavin' him there after I pulled a knife on him. I really didn't mean to. I was being tailed by people. What would anyone else do in my situation? But still…I wish I coulda' made sure he was okay, but then _they_ showed up and I had to bail… I hope they didn't do nothin' to him." In an instant, he found himself against the wall, Celty's fist grasping his collar and a long, spiked drill barely touching his forehead. The sky opened up to unleash a torrential downpour. Celty thrust the PDA into his terrified face as Shinra lay, still in bed, on the screen. Celty pulled the device away and again, quickly thrust it back to his face.

[Shinra barely made it back to our apartment ALIVE and now he's unconscious. Do you have any idea what you did to him? If I wasn't home, he'd probably be dead by now!] She changed the screen back to Shinra and stared back at the trembling man she held in her hand. The drill slowly began to rotate, his eyes fixed on the tip. It slowly gained speed as the man began pleading and begging. His screams couldn't be heard through the pulsating fury that Celty was slowly being consumed by. The drill got more grotesque and terrifying as it picked up speed. The tip barely touched the man's skin and it began to tear, blood slowly oozing from the wound and dribbling down his face. Celty was a few seconds away from destroying this man.

An electronic-sounding yelp rang through Celty's pseudo-ears. The PDA she revealed showed Shinra, holding his side, wincing as he slept. The shadows dissipated and Celty ran to her bike. The trembling man stood, excessively apologizing to her as his forehead continued to gently bleed. But in a matter of seconds, Celty could no longer hear his groveling. She was on her way home, hoping that Shinra wasn't already dead. That man didn't matter anymore; all that mattered was getting to Shinra before it was too late. The rain splattered against the bright helmet as Celty accelerated down the streets.

A drenched Celty burst through the front door of the apartment door, almost falling to the floor. She flung Shinra's door open and immediately threw her helmet to the floor. Shinra lay on his bed, contorted in pain and sweat about his brow. She looked about the sprawled body for a sign of what was wrong. She gently pressed her hand against his forehead; it was burning. Rushing to the kitchen, Celty fumbled with the wash cloth as she held it under the cold water, hands shaking from the terror. Upon her return, she placed the cloth gingerly on the man's forehead. As she touched his collar bone, it too was hot to the touch. Celty, again, frantically sprinted to and from the kitchen, back to Shinra's side, where she delicately placed a second cloth across Shinra's chest. It began to work not long after, as Shinra's body became more relaxed and his temperature slowly decreased. After lying still for a long time, still breathing, Celty sat back and sighed a sigh of dark clouds; Shinra was still alive.

All was quiet with exception of the rain tapping at the outside walls of the building. A sort of eerie peace cloaked the scene: Celty silently sat aside the unconscious Shinra, waiting for his eyes to open once more. Fatigue rapidly set in for the dullahan as her roommate lay comfortably in his bed. With a wave of her hand, the shadowy suit she regularly adorned seemed to vaporize, only to rematerialize as a loose-fitting shirt and pajama pants.

She proceeded to lie next to Shinra on his bed. Her body faced him, so as to constantly watch him. But fatigue continued to barrage the tired Celty. As she drifted into unconsciousness, she watched as Shinra slept so peacefully. He was still alive; that's all that mattered. _I don't even remember what that man looked like._ As her far away mind began to send her to sleep, she forgot what little she knew about the man: the address, his face. Her last thought before falling asleep was, _I guess that I don't need to remember him…_

Celty awoke the next day; her body sprawled across every bit of area it could be. The blanket loosely cloaked the lower part of her body with a leg protruding from beneath it. She looked about and found Shinra; still lying where she'd left him last. The grey skies still lingered, unleashing millions of millions of drops. The storm had not gotten any worse, it seemed. She continued to stare at the man beside her in this quiet room. With a longing gaze, she looked upon her prince as the minutes turned to hours on this slow day of days. All was tranquil and for the first time in the past day, the knotted feeling in her chest was no longer and her pseudo heart was not racing.

Shinra stirred suddenly. Celty tensed, but quickly found the stimulus to be no threat. Shinra was asleep; his body still weak kept his movement slow and fatigued. He slowly rolled to face Celty, still deep in sleep. He casually ran his free arm over the quilt and dropped it onto her side. There was silence as Celty watched Shinra for more potential movement to be made. There was none. A second arm wrapped itself around his waist. Sleep quickly found her as her dreams flooded into her mind and imagery into her senses.

The rain continued to pour down from the sky into the afternoon. On this day, the speed of the city, of Celty's life, was slowed almost to a standstill. Upon her waking, she gazed over to the man beside her. He faced the gray-looking ceiling. As she stirred and began to lift her neck from the pillow beneath it, Shinra turned his bandaged head to face her, eyes parted just so. She stopped, her arms frozen half placed to push herself up. She lay there, frozen; staring into the gray skies around his pupils. The corner of his mouth rose in a partial smile as the wash cloth slowly oozed down the side of his face and onto the pillow. He looked over to the cloth, confused, before lightly chuckling. As he chuckled more, it quickly turned to laughter. His laughter only stopped when Celty reached slowly and pinched his cheek between her fingers.

"Hey! What'd I do this time" he asked jokingly. She reached for her PDA, sitting on the table on the other side of Shinra. As she leaned over him, he pulled her down on top of him. When she shot him an annoyed glance, he just smiled his goofy smile and hugged her.

[You really are an idiot. You know that?] He placed his hand on the back of her partially exposed neck and pulled her in close. Where an ear might have been, Shinra's lips barely glanced. In a very sincere voice, he whispered: "Thank you, Celty. For everything". She gently wrapped her arms round his neck; shoulders shuddering.

"Are you crying" he asked, as he slowly ran his hand up to her neck and held it gently. "You aren't getting rid of me that easy," he responded. "Then who's gut would you punch?" His meek smile was stretched by Celty's fingers, now pinching his cheek. She slowly reached for her black PDA and proceeded to tap at the keys. Shinra gazed at the figure laying across his body, curiosity welling in his mind. Celty casually raised the device, screen highlighting Shinra's face.

[I'm just happy you're ok.] Celty slowly replaced the black PDA to the table and snuggled up against Shinra's warm body. As the rain continued to barrage the walls, the sounds of the afternoon were dulled and, for a long while, Shinra stared at Celty. He watched as she fell asleep, nestled in the crook of his bandaged arm; even if he felt pain, he wouldn't bother Celty with it. All he felt was the warmth the two bodies created between each other. He, too, was fast asleep soon. And as they slept the day away, rain still battering the walls; like a quiet lullaby.

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